American Marketing Association recognizes SUNY New Paltz student chapter as one of the Top 16 in the nation for fourth year in a row

NEW PALTZ – The State University of New York at New Paltz was selected as one of the Top 16 collegiate chapters by the American Marketing Association (AMA). New Paltz received a bronze chapter award, making this the fourth year in a row the college has placed in the Top 16. The awards were presented at the AMA’s Annual International Collegiate Conference in New Orleans March 21 to March 23.

The colleges were judged on the quality of their strategic marketing plan and annual report submitted for the contest. The strategic plan outlined the chapter’s plans for student professional development, community service, fundraising, membership, communications and operations. The annual report highlighted the chapter’s accomplishments. Of the approximately 300 AMA international collegiate chapters, 165 submitted strategic marketing plans and reports to compete for awards.

“We are thrilled to see our students rising up to challenges and excelling as we prepare them for today’s business environment,” said Hadi Salavitabar, dean of the School of Business. “The continued success of our AMA chapter shows the quality of our students, faculty and business program.”

In addition, the New Paltz chapter was awarded honorable mention in the marketing week competition. Students also participated in the AMASAVESLIVES, Northwestern Mutual sales, and marketing strategy competitions. New Paltz students also presented two sessions for their peers on professional development and leadership.

Faculty advisor Ted Clark said these were major accomplishments for a chapter, which has almost an entirely new board, from a small institution. “I am so proud of our students. Not only did they establish a very ambitious agenda by entering a variety of competitions at the conference; they also performed extraordinarily well,” he said.

More than 1,100 students and 100 faculty advisors from chapters across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico attended the annual event.

Representing the SUNY New Paltz AMA chapter were: Professor Ted Clark, faculty advisor; Eddie Monroy ’12, ’13g, president; Christopher Pulliam ’14, vice president of membership; Derek Lizza ’14, vice president of community service; Elizabeth Sydney ’14, vice president of programming; Cassandra Peebles ’12, ’13g, vice president of advertising/promotion and public relations; Krystal Lokys ’13, vice president of fundraising; and Erica Vaccaro ’15, vice president of communications.

SUNY New Paltz is an accredited member of AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate School of Business, the highest achievement for an educational institution that awards business degrees. The School of Business offers Bachelor of Science degrees in accounting, finance, general business, international business, marketing, and management, as well as a Master in Business Administration (MBA) and an MBA in public accountancy. Currently, about 950 undergraduate and graduate students are enrolled in the business program. The School is committed to educating and developing students to be competent business professionals in a global economy. For more information about the School of Business, visit www.newpaltz.edu/schoolofbusiness or call 845-257-2930.